States cut programs to help poor cool their homes

[The Straight Story]

States cut programs to help poor cool their homes


SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Many states hit hardest by this week's searing heat wave have drastically cut or entirely eliminated programs that help poor people pay their electric bills, forcing thousands to go without air conditioning when they need it most.

Oklahoma ran out of money in just three days. Illinois cut its program to focus on offering heating money for the winter ahead. And Indiana isn't taking any new applicants. When weighed against education and other budget needs, cooling assistance has been among the first items cut, and advocates for the poor say that could make this heat wave even more dangerous.

"I've never seen it this bad," said Timothy Bruer, executive of Energy Services Inc., which administers the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in 14 Wisconsin counties. The group has turned away about 80 percent of applicants seeking cooling assistance.

The sizzling summer heat comes after a bitterly cold, snowy winter in many places and at a time when unemployment remains stubbornly high.

http://www.abc12.com/story/15125223/states-cut-programs-to-help-poor-cool-their-homes

[sakabatou]

1. WTF?!

[asjr]

2. Now would be a very good time to

let the nation know all this is the fault of G.W.Bush Inc. and his jolly Republican friends. He spent our surplus on wars and big corporations. So now people are still dying because of his actions. Not just in other countries but now in our own country. I know he will never be brought to justice but that does not mean we can't tell it to everyone who lives in this country. I want the president and every Democratic politico in Washington to tell it on a daily basis. I am a mild mannered old woman but I would love to see justice before I leave this earth.